A disability service in Melbourne has shut its doors temporarily after one of its clients tested positive for COVID-19.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The development comes as Victorians are being urged not to put off having health checks unrelated to coronavirus, which could save their lives.
A client of Scope Disability Services in Chelsea was among four new COVID-19 cases confirmed in Victoria on Wednesday.
The person had attended the facility while infectious and the site in Melbourne's southeast will be closed on Wednesday and Thursday as it undergoes deep cleaning.
Health officials are trying to determine which of the centre's 15 staff and 15 clients, who attend day programs in small groups of two or three, came into contact with the infected individual.
Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos says they are also trying to determine how the individual, who lives with family, contracted the disease.
"The source of the infection is not known," she said on Wednesday.
Another new case has been linked to the outbreak at Rydges Hotel in Melbourne's CBD, where returned travellers have been quarantined, bringing cases connected to the cluster to 14.
The remaining two new cases were identified through routine testing.
Amid the fresh cases, Victorians have been told to book appointments to see their doctors if they have any concerns about their health, in the same way they would have before the pandemic.
Ms Mikakos said anxiety about the spread of coronavirus had kept some people away from health centres, with emergency rooms receiving 30 per cent fewer visitors at some points during the pandemic.
The Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre at one stage received 60 per cent fewer referrals from doctors.
But the minister said hospitals and GPs are focusing strongly on infection control and that no one should avoid them if they need help.
"Make sure that if you are seeing a lump or a bump or you are exhibiting unusual symptoms, that you go and get that checked out," she said.
The message rings true for Sajeeva Mederipiteeya, who underwent keyhole surgery for prostate cancer with Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre's Professor Duncan Murphy last month.
The 50-year-old learnt he had the cancer through a routine screening test about two years ago.
"See your doctor on a regular basis, do your blood test on a regular basis," he said.
Victoria's four new cases reported on Wednesday bring the state's tally to 1691, with just 54 remaining active.
Australian Associated Press
